Get Energy Smart! NOW!

Blogging for a sustainable energy future.

Get Energy Smart!  NOW! header image 4

Entries from April 2010

Back to basics … principles matter

April 29th, 2010 · 2 Comments

In the will they, won’t they, those fighting for climate change mitigation wait to see whether Kerry-Graham-Lieberman will drop a climate bill and, if they do so, what will it contain. There are many ways to judge what comes out but the simplest and, for me, most important is to consider basic principles. At their […]

[Read more →]

Tags: climate change · climate legislation · Energy · Global Warming · political symbols · politics · pollution

Fossil Fuel Investigations Overwhelming Federal Resources?

April 28th, 2010 · 1 Comment

In the face of a range of front-page disasters, various agencies have stepped up their investigations of fossil-fuel industries. There are serious investigations going on of natural gas fracking. The deaths in West Virginia have led to ramped up Federal mine inspections, with more aggressive action, which is following announcements for more serious analysis of […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Energy

Pre-empting Our Future: Why we MUST Defeat Kerry-(Graham)-Lieberman

April 28th, 2010 · 1 Comment

While remaining uncertain as to just how bad it is, the concerns that KGL will cross the line from mediocrity to counterproductive are increasing. Here is a guest post from Craig Altemose laying out how he sees that line having already passed. For the past year and a half or so, I have been largely […]

[Read more →]

Tags: catastrophic climate change · climate change · climate legislation · environmental · government energy policy

CAP’s American Fuel: Contaminated on so many levels

April 27th, 2010 · 14 Comments

Two weeks ago, the Center for American Progress issued American Fuel: Developing Natural Gas for Heavy Vehicles. This misleading and error-prone report strongly supports misguided policy concepts to subsidize heavily transitioning American transportation from one fossil fuel (oil) to a slightly lower polluting alternative (natural gas). Even though political momentum exists behind this concept, it […]

[Read more →]

Tags: bus · climate change · Energy · environmental · fuel economy · gasoline · Global Warming · government energy policy · hybrid · hybrid trucks · pollution · t boone pickens · the pickens plan

Partying with Green Tea?

April 26th, 2010 · 2 Comments

Tom Friedman has set out a leading position in the media landscape on the need for Green to be the new Red, White, and Blue. He has made articulate — and forceful — arguments underlying the basic national security (and economic) reasons for moving forward with an aggressive clean energy program across the United States. […]

[Read more →]

Tags: climate change · environmental · Global Warming

Scientific Society Revises Climate Change Statement: science advances

April 23rd, 2010 · 3 Comments

The Geological Society of America (GSA) has revised its 2006 statement on climate change. The GSA’s position statement on climate change is as follows: Decades of scientific research have shown that climate can change from both natural and anthropogenic causes. The Geological Society of America (GSA) concurs with assessments by the National Academies of Science […]

[Read more →]

Tags: climate change · Global Warming

KGL resources …

April 23rd, 2010 · 1 Comment

Courtesy of Enviroknow, some resources re the coming Kerry-Graham-Lieberman “climate” (???) legislation: — It is expected to be dropped this coming Monday, aka Offshore Drilling Day. — The rollout next week apparently won’t actually include the introduction of the bill.  It will be handed over to Senator Reid so he can bring it directly to […]

[Read more →]

Tags: climate legislation · Energy

Advocates for climate mitigation again understate case?

April 23rd, 2010 · 4 Comments

Friday, the Center for Climate Strategies released a study showing that making national policy of 23 measures already in play in Red and Blue and Purple states across the nation would lead to millions of additional jobs and significant carbon reductions. This study shows, quite clearly, that serious climate mitigation efforts should not be discussed […]

[Read more →]

Tags: analysis · climate change · climate legislation · Congress · Energy · government energy policy

A day like any other …

April 21st, 2010 · 1 Comment

Today is Earth Day. The 40th Earth Day. And, I’m feeling old, thinking back to that first Earth Day back in 1970. Composted then. Ditto today. Turned lights off when not required back then. Ditto today. Contacted politicians advocating the benefits of a clean energy future in 1970. Ditto today. Those dittos aren’t isolated to […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Energy

“Hump smarter … save the snail darter”

April 21st, 2010 · Comments Off on “Hump smarter … save the snail darter”

The pushing to the Overton Window to the right, ever to the right, over the past few decades have made many topics seemingly near taboo in ‘polite company’. Zero Population Growth seemingly was part of the common lexicon decades ago, with serious concern about The Population Bomb part of the general cultural conversation space. As […]

[Read more →]

Tags: environmental